All posts by Randy Russon
Upright and downtown
My wife and I have now lived in the Sault’s downtown for more than six years. And while those who don’t live downtown and those who like to sensationalize or over play its issues may disagree, we have never — touch wood — had an altercation or felt unsafe where we reside.
…[read more]Take a bow, Krista Nolan
Downtown Sault Ste. Marie business owner Krista Nolan is the epitome of hard work that translates into success and acknowledgement. Nolan, who routinely starts her day before 6 a.m. and works well into the evening, is the hands-on owner of Mane Street Co., which operates a hair salon, a women’s fitness centre, bar and cafe, and an event centre — all located in the same building at 626 Queen St. E.
…[read more]Football at Sault College
Touchdown! Sault College is expanding its varsity athletics program to include football. The addition is effective the 2025 season.
…[read more]Old fastball days … CKCY Radio
I simply cannot drive past Wilcox Park or North Street Field without thinking of all of the fastball games that I watched there over so many years. It began for me as a grade school kid when my family lived right across from Wilcox Park on Maple Street.
…[read more]Old Steeler of NFC Fame
Better late than never. Brad Jourdin, who was a star wide receiver for the Sault Steelers during their debut championship season of 1972, will finally be inducted into the Northern Football Conference Hall of Fame.
…[read more]Windsor Hotel memory bank
Located in the Sault’s downtown, it just recently re-opened as the Windsor Place Retirement Residence. Owner Feroze Virani took over the iconic Windsor Park Hotel during Covid and over the past few years, has restored the downtown jewel into what is hoped will be a return to prominence.
…[read more]60 cent wings at Reggie’s!
This just might be the best wing special in Sault Ste. Marie. And it is happening at Reggie’s Place Tavern in the Sault’s downtown.
…[read more]Gold medal wrestler
A gutsy gold medal performance by Nevaeh Pine of Whites Pines Collegiate was the highlight for a group of Sault Ste. Marie high school wrestlers who recently competed at the Ontario Federation of Schools Athletic Association championship tournament in Ottawa.
…[read more]Reggie’s now open every day
Patrons can now sidle into Reggie’s Place Tavern to order food or sip on a cold beer seven days a week. The popular downtown Sault Ste. Marie watering hole was previously closed on Mondays.
…[read more]Why are Sault rinks so dirty?
There is no nice way to write this. Our rinks are dirty, disgusting and embarrassing. It says here that John Rhodes Community Centre, built in 1979, is poorly maintained and attended to. Same applies to GFL Memorial Gardens, which opened in 2006 and has quickly turned into a grubby, grimy barn.
…[read more]Reggie & Randy at Reggie’s
Guess who we just saw at Reggie’s Place Tavern in the Sault’s downtown? None other than the iconic Reggie Daigle!
…[read more]My best chum Stafford
She came into our lives on a Sunday morning in January of 2012. She was a one-year old rescue dog and for me, it was love at first sight.
…[read more]Remy got it Wright!
Young Remy Tomas of the Sault is a big hockey fan. The eight-year old youngster also plays the game as a member of the Integro Physiotherapy Wolves. And one of Remy’s favourite hockey players is Team Canada forward Shane Wright.
…[read more]AU soccer stays local
Why leave home when university and athletics can be combined here? It is a question that has just been answered by one local academic/athletic standout. Berlyn Killoran of St. Mary’s College in the Sault has officially signed with the Algoma University women’s soccer team ahead of the 2023 fall term.
…[read more]All about Zoli’s Kleaners
Good guy Bronson Kovacs made a good name for himself as a hockey player who rose through the ranks of the game in Sault Ste. Marie from pee wee to bantam to midget to junior A before playing four years at the National Collegiate Athletic Association level and six more years as a pro over in Hungary.
…[read more]Election reflections
The people have spoken. And while it is lamentable that the number of ballots cast for the 2022 Sault Ste. Marie municipal election fell well below the majority of eligible voters, the fact remains that those who were elected were designated fair and square to sit in the mayor’s chair and represent city council for the next few years.
…[read more]AU hoops star to Portugal
Karissa Kajorinne is an example of how Algoma University doesn’t just send its many graduates out into the working world with jobs that were landed via various degrees of higher learning.
…[read more]Sault Steelers started in ’72
A recent victory by the Sault Steelers over their arch rival Sudbury Spartans not only gave the locals a winning record for the 2022 regular season but a home game for the opening round of the playoffs, which get underway next month.
…[read more]Romano honoured to serve PCs
Veteran Sault Ste. Marie member of provincial parliament Ross Romano has an important assignment within the government of Ontario Premier Doug Ford. And in going from being a cabinet minister in the Progressive Conservative majority at Queen’s Park to the party’s chief government whip, Romano relayed his feelings to Sault Business Matters.
…[read more]All about Forty-Five Social
It opened less than nine months ago as an innovative, well planned, well thought out concept. Located at 117 Spring Street, between Albert and Queen in the heart of the Sault’s downtown, Forty-Five Social has become a fresh face as a new local business.
…[read more]Ross retains Sault riding
Voters throughout Ontario, including Sault Ste. Marie, saw no reason to make change on the June 2 provincial election day.
…[read more]Rah, rah, rah … blah, blah, blah
Some of what goes with being an extreme, intense sports fan is the unconditional loyalty to a favourite team. It is such loyalty that National Hockey League fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs can well attest to.
…[read more]Then, now at the Windsor Hotel
It has been sitting empty for several years now as the restless hands of time have passed it by. But current owner Feroze Virani has taken over the iconic Windsor Hotel with construction underway that his firm says will turn the 10-storey downtown landmark into a retirement home. Let us hope that the opening is not far off.
…[read more]Greyhounds … Hound Town Ale
Soo Greyhounds president and governor Tim Lukenda talked about his favourite Ontario Hockey League team. And then he yakked about his new craft beer of choice.
…[read more]RIP, boxing legend Steve Nolan
This is a tough one to write and report on. That is, a mere few days after celebrating his 62nd birthday, legendary Sault Ste. Marie and world class boxer Steve Nolan passed away suddenly from an abdominal aortic aneurysm.
…[read more]Mathieu Gentès, Athletics Canada
Sault Ste. Marie native Mathieu Gentès has been appointed as the interim chief executive officer for Athletics Canada.
…[read more]40 years at Sault This Week
It was 40 years ago this month — February of 1982 — that I walked through the front door of 2 Towers Street, opened the first door on my right and headed up the stairs to a cozy loft that overlooked the busy composing room of the Sault This Week, which was then called Shopper News.
…[read more]RIP, Bobby Yeomans
A quiet, soft spoken legend on the local music scene, Bob Yeomans passed away suddenly on Saturday. The mystical Yeomans was a musical presence for six decades, performing with countless bands and talented musicians.
…[read more]Old teachers, good memories
Teaching is like any profession. There are good ones, pretty good ones, and bad ones. And it is the good ones who provide positive direction that lead to good instruction, good times — and even better memories.
…[read more]Investing in our downtown
If you work, live, or frequent the Sault’s downtown, you just may have taken note of the modest growth that the area has experienced over recent times.
Forty-Five Social, which includes a men’s clothing store, barber shop, bar and cafe, along with Lucy Ro Clean Beauty, is just the latest local business enterprise to set up shop in the Sault’s downtown.
…[read more]Election aftermath overview
It may rightfully be stated that Sault Ste. Marie came within less than 250 votes of potentially shooting itself in the foot at the recent federal election.
That is because Conservative challenger Sonny Spina came oh so close to unseating Liberal incumbent Terry Sheehan. And had Spina prevailed, the Sault would have been on the outside looking in given that Canada re-elected Justin Trudeau of the Liberals as Prime Minister for what is now a third term.
…[read more]Fixated by football
Okay football fans, here we go. Are you ready for some nonsense?
A mind altering obsession with millions across North America including thousands in good, old Sault Ste. Marie, the National Football League begins the 2021 regular season this week.
…[read more]A wish list for the Sault
I love this town. I really do. When people trash the Sault, I invariably defend it to the hilt, even if the criticism is warranted.
Having said that, I do have a wish list for the betterment of the Sault.
…[read more]Patio bars back in business
As Ontario partially reopened on June 11 under what the provincial government is calling the ‘first phase’, a number of licensed patio bars in the Sault’s downtown were happening places.
…[read more]Northern Superior patio bar
A newly designed patio bar is coming to the downtown area of the Sault.
Northern Superior Brewing Co., which has property aplenty on lower Pim Street adjacent to the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, plans on having its patio bar open next week.
…[read more]More downtown patio bars!
There is much anticipation relative to the phased reopening of Ontario’s food and beverage industry that includes outdoor patio bars.
And as many of us in the Sault are looking forward to the planned, long-anticipated opening of outdoor patio bar season beginning the week of June 13, the downtown area along Queen Street and beyond will feature a multitude of open air, licensed dining establishments.
…[read more]Lindsay in the air chair
There is another Ellis now spinning the timeless, endless classic hit tunes on local radio station Eagle 95.1.
Lindsay Ellis recently took over the 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. time slot on the Eagle. Her shift follows the 6-10 a.m. ‘Rise and Shine Morning Show’ that is hosted by her husband, long-time local radio personality Tim Ellis, aka Timmy E.
The Ellis’s have been local owners and operators of Eagle 95.1 for just over two and a half years.
…[read more]Phases and faces of radio
To declare or observe that radio has undergone consequential compression since I started in the business in 1975 would rank as an overplayed understatement.
From being live 24 hours a day, seven days a week in what was the golden age of radio for stations that were locally owned and operated, the industry has now subjected many who work in it do so in an almost robotic fashion while under the thumb of corporate control.
…[read more]High school will never be Dunn
The walls at the venerable high school on Wellington Street in the Sault’s east end came tumbling down several years ago.
But the long gone walls and hallowed halls still speak their own language and Sir James Dunn Collegiate remains alive in the memory bank for many who attended the school at any point from its opening in 1957 to its close in 2010.
If you went to SJD and enjoyed any part of your experience there for any length of time, chances are good that high school will never be Dunn in your mind, memory or heart.
…[read more]Hard working, top producing
As a defenseman of moderate skill, it was his work ethic and honest, hard-driven approach to the game that led John Glavota to a professional hockey career that included a decade on the international stage.
It is those same traits that have helped to make the 44-year old Glavota the top producing real estate agent in Sault Ste. Marie.
…[read more]Eagle on air, everywhere
It spins the classic music hits that are endless in time.
With an impressive music library that is without peer, Sault radio station Eagle 95.1 also reaches an on-line audience with a crisp, clear sound via http://eagleradio951.com.
And the Eagle also has more — besides music — to offer with day long weather updates and a local sports presence.
…[read more]Trying to stay positive but …
I try to be positive as it relates to what I like, support and am a part of in any way.
For instance, I try to focus on and support what is positive relative to the Sault’s downtown and surrounding area and their many good features, including small business.
And when it comes to a favourite amateur sport, I always aim to promote and feature minor hockey and junior hockey in the north, along with the kids who play it and the coaches who mentor the players.
…[read more]Good nation of local radio
It came as good news to hear — a mere month after being unceremoniously ousted by Country 104.3 after 30 plus years in the air chair — that good guy Jeff McNeice has a new gig on rival local radio station Country 105.5.
At any rate, the forced, short-lived exile of McNeice brought two things to mind. As in, what was Country 104.3 thinking when it moved on from McNeice and, the restless hands of time have yet to pass by a local radio nation of announcers.
…[read more]Follow the rules
Okay, so maybe it isn’t the news we wanted to hear — that the January 23 southern Ontario lock down date relative to COVID-19 now applies to northern Ontario.
…[read more]RIP, Uncle Joe
Italian soccer has lost one of its biggest, best and most ardent supporters.
And our family has lost a real character and such a good person.
My uncle Joe DeSimone passed away the other day at the good, old age of 89.
A simple man and an Italian immigrant, he loved to cook for family and take care of all of us, albeit in a manner that was, um, gruff and grouchy at times.
…[read more]Angry Joe rocks Reggie’s
Joltin’ Joe Della Savia returned to the stage in a big way on the weekend and rocked it at Reggie’s Place Tavern in the Sault’s downtown.
The current rendition of Angry Joe and the Growlers, featuring the always-entertaining Della Savia as lead singer, along with fellow guitarists Ron McLean and Marcel VanLandeghem and drummer Chuck Gassi, stole the show at Reggie’s with an array of well-performed classic hits from the 1960s and 1970s.
…[read more]A favourite teacher, coach
There were a few teachers from my elementary school days, first at Holy Angel, then at St. Mark, who will always be ultimate favourites of mine.
And one of them, Mr. Larry McNally, happened to be my teacher at both Holy Angel and St. Mark.
He was also my softball coach at both schools.
I loved him as a teacher and a coach. And my fondness for him carried on when I became an adult and got to know him even more.
…[read more]Big addition to downtown
What a boost this is for our fair city — especially a core area that is in growing stages of a much-needed comeback.
A venerable building in the Sault’s downtown has been turned into a multi-purpose store with the new Queenstown Drug Mart as the flagship of what can be termed a major new investment by local entrepreneur Joseph Greco and his partners.
…[read more]‘Tis the season at Broers
The cozy, comfy, intimate wine bar that is Broers Jansen is all decorated for the Christmas season.
A popular, people-friendly establishment, located in the Sault’s downtown , Broers Jansen is a local, family-owned-and-operated small business that defines inimitable.
…[read more]Jim McAuley, such a nice man
He defined kindness and generosity with a trademark, friendly smile and the warmest of hearts.
A much respected, benevolent gentleman who was well known and well liked, he shunned the limelight even though he was so active in the community as a businessman, volunteer and philanthropist.
He had a love for dogs and a soft heart for the less fortunate and he gave so much in so many ways and asked for nothing in return.
…[read more]Reggie’s revving up karaoke
The karaoke machine is returning to Reggie’s Place Tavern in the Sault’s downtown.
Randy Lapossie, who along with his wife Kylie took over operation of Reggie’s Downtown on September 1 of this year, confirmed that karaoke will be a Thursday feature from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. beginning this week.
…[read more]45 years ago this month …
October is a month of significance for me.
I was born in October of 1952 and will soon turn 68.
And in October of 1975 — 45 years ago — I began my media career as a $3 an hour, part time sportscaster at local radio station CKCY.
I was hired in a rather unusual manner. That is, CKCY news and sports director Paul Leonard gave me the job over several glasses of draught beer at the Algoma Hotel, which was located beside Memorial Gardens, across from the radio station, in the Sault’s downtown.
…[read more]Fall into winter at Mane St.
Krista Nolan, who owns and operates Mane Street Cafe in the Sault’s downtown, has outlined plans for her neat, tidy and comfortable little eatery as fall heads towards winter.
Besides offering $5 pints of draught beer and $7 glasses of seven ounce wine, Nolan tells Sault Business Matters that she plans “to keep a storefront patio of some sort through most of the winter.”
…[read more]